1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new or improved nozzle for an air blower, to an air blower incorporating such a nozzle, and to a vehicle car wash installation utilizing such nozzles and air blowers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many forms of automated vehicle washing systems have been proposed and built in recent decades. Known automated car wash systems can generally be classified into two types, one in which the vehicle once moved into position remains stationary while the washing and drying equipment is moved relative to the vehicle, and a second wherein the vehicle is moved by a drive chain along an elongate track, along the length of the track passing by a succession of stations wherein washing, rinsing, waxing and finally drying operations are performed by automated equipment.
While such automated vehicle wash systems are generally efficient in terms of washing the vehicle, their performance in drying the vehicle is not in all cases satisfactory. Some automated car wash installations employ operators to apply a final manual wipe down treatment of automobiles to avoid spotting of the finish which results from imperfect automated drying operation.
Some of the problems with prior art vehicle drying systems are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,739 Johnson which discloses a drying system incorporating oscillating air blowers which are positioned on the upright and cross beam of an arch type frame through which the vehicle passes.
Another prior art automated drying system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,161 Jones wherein drying is effected by downwardly directed oscillating nozzles designed to drive water from the surfaces of the vehicle as the latter passes by the nozzles. However Jones requires a somewhat complex and expensive nozzle structure and adjustable drive system therefor to accommodate the required oscillating movement.
It is an object of the invention to provide a simplified adjustable nozzle system for an air blower, and one which is particularly suitable for use in automated drying systems in car wash installations.
The invention accordingly provides an air blower comprising: a housing enclosing a fan, said housing having inlet and outlet ports for flow of air through said housing upon operation of said fan; a nozzle carried by said housing to deliver a flow of air therefrom in a given direction; wherein said nozzle has a base carried on said housing in communication with and surrounding said outlet port, said nozzle being rotatable relative to said housing about an axis, said nozzle being oriented at an acute angle relative to said axis such that rotation of said nozzle about said axis is effective to adjust said given direction through a conical path.
Preferably the nozzle is of hollow tubular form and tapers in cross section from the base towards the outlet end, and is mounted on the blower housing by means of an annular bearing surrounding the outlet port. A drive element such as an endless flexible belt looped around the motor driven pulley provides control of rotation of the nozzle. The nozzle is preferably of tapered frusto-conical shape arranged so that the cone axis generally intersects the vehicle path as the latter passes the dryer installation. By adjusting the angular orientation of the nozzle, the air stream can be made to fall on any desired part of the vehicle that lies within the conical pattern which can be traced out by rotation of the nozzle.
The air blower is suitable for inclusion in a vehicle car wash installation dryer section wherein the vehicle to be dried is spanned by an arch frame that carries a plurality of such air blowers positioned so that the air flow can be directed onto a vehicle that moves relative to said frame. The frame may include further blowers in which the direction of air flow delivered is constant. The installation will preferably include a series of sensors to control operation of the blowers and orientation of the nozzles in response to the movement and instantaneous location of the vehicle being treated. Thus the nozzles may be controlled to direct air onto the front portion of the vehicle as it approaches, changing direction as the sides and top of the vehicle move past the arch frame, and then orienting towards the rear of the vehicle as it leaves the arch frame. One sensor may be located to be actuated in response to passing of a front wheel of the vehicle to direct a flow of air from one nozzle onto the corresponding rearview wing mirror of the vehicle.
The invention also provides a vehicle car wash installation including a frame having a series of blowers as described above positioned at locations on the frame to direct air flow to various parts of vehicles to be dried. In a typical installation the frame is of arch shaped and spans a track along which vehicles are dragged by a conveyor. However the invention is equally applicable to dryer installations wherein the vehicle is stationary and an arch frame is moved longitudinally back and front along the length of the vehicle.